Up until this year, I didn’t know that regular stomach bloating could be a sign of anything more sinister than a diet too heavy in cabbage. Ovarian cancer may be less well-known than some of the other cancers, but its survival rate of this disease draws attention. Shockingly, once diagnosed, only 40% of women survive beyond 5 years. Symptoms often pass unnoticed, being as ordinary as feeling full quickly or bloating.

I met the head of marketing of Ovarian Cancer Action at the London ceremony where I won Professional Photographer magazine’s Press Photographer of the Year award, and she was now recruiting a photographer to breathe new life into the charity’s image. It was a privilege to be able to help raise attention to this cause.

I was commissioned recently by a boutique optician in Nice who wanted a photographer to shoot some portraits for a new advertising campaign. A creative brief to combine quirky humour with élégance in black and white made for a particularly French feel to this photography assignment.

Sitting on a sunny café terrace, if you overheard people next to you discussing Wally, Linda Lou and Queen M, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were talking about old friends graced with slightly unusual nicknames. However, I was on assignment in Monaco, just about to meet leading designer of superyachts Espen Øeino, and my companions (members of Centurion magazine’s editorial team) were excitedly discussing the yachts they could spot from our table.